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2 Virginia Boys Suspended For Using Pencils As Guns

by APposted May 7 2013 12:06PM

SUFFOLK, Va. (AP) - Two Suffolk second graders have been suspended for making shooting noises while pointing pencils at each another.

Media outlets report the boys were suspended for two days for a violation of the Suffolk school system's zero-tolerance policy on weapons. They were playing with one another in class Friday at Driver Elementary.

One of the boys' fathers says he believes school officials overreacted.

But Suffolk Public Schools spokeswoman Bethanne Bradshaw says a pencil is considered a weapon when it's pointed at someone in a threatening way and gun noises are made.

Bradshaw says some children would consider the incident threatening.

She says the policy has been in place for at least two decades. It also bans drawing a picture of a gun and pointing a finger in a threatening manner.